Adrian is approximately 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Ann Arbor, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Jackson, and 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Toledo, Ohio. A portion of the city is on the border between Adrian Township and Madison Charter Township, although the city is politically independent of both. The city's urban area extends beyond the city limits into both of those townships as well as into nearby Raisin Township and Palmyra Township.
Adrian is 15 miles (24 km) southeast of the Irish Hills area of Michigan, an area known for its many lakes and rolling hills, and home to the Irish Famine Memorial and Michigan International Speedway. Many town residents take advantage of this area for boating and recreation. Devils Lake, Round Lake, Posey Lake and Wamplers Lake are popular weekend destinations only a few miles away.
Heritage Park and Trestle Park are unusual in their format, having extensive mountain bike trails and boardwalks along the river. Trestle Park features a pedestrian walkway innovatively situated along a former railroad trestle.
The population of Adrian is just over 21,000 as of 2010. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races. 18.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Adrian is sometimes referred to as "the Maple City" due in part to the many sugar maples and other maple tree species found throughout the city. The Adrian High School sports teams are known as the "Adrian Maples" and several local businesses use maple in their names.
Adrian Public Schools serves Adrian and the surrounding area offering many pre-schools and grades from Young Fives/Kindergarten through high school. There are 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and one high school. Adrian is the home to the Lenawee ISD and serves all of Lenawee County. High schools work collaboratively with Lenawee’s Vo-tech school and offers vocational education to students who wish to participate.
Adrian is the home to Adrian College and Siena Heights University also offer many cultural opportunities as well.
To find out more about Adrian and it's surrounding areas in Lenawee County, check out Lenawee Now's community book, Pure Michigan-Lenawee.
